Women expressed a fear of the intimate horror film in which the fearsome entities dwell inside the home (or inside a character). Ryan’s 9 empirical study of “slasher” film imagery and its differing effects on men and women found that female viewers more frequently indulge in the “gothic horror” subgenre characterized by internalized or domestic horror. These claims support the pervasive myth that women do not derive pleasure from horror film spectatorship. Williams identifies several factors which cause the woman to look away, including a lack of identifiable onscreen representation and the female spectator’s inability to bear witness to violence and degradation perpetuated upon women. Linda Williams 8 considers the female spectator to be a passive entity, one which refuses to return the male gaze and thus, refuses to look. 7 Rather than becoming the victim of the gaze, the female viewer may adopt and accept the male gaze. However, the female viewer may choose to adopt the male gaze and thereby, succumb to a degree of transvestism. The masochistic viewer’s perspective allows the spectator to identify with the onscreen female and her suffering. The first, as mentioned by Twitchell and Hansen, is the role of a passive, masochistic viewer. For the female spectator to experience any pleasure from Hollywood films, Laura Mulvey 6 postulates that women may take one of two stances, often vacillating between the two. Hansen believes viewers oscillate between sadistic and masochistic pleasure. James Twitchell 4 and Miriam Hansen 5 suggest that the genre is misogynist and therefore, the female spectator is forced into a masochistic role. 3 When confronted with the question of why women express displeasure with the horror genre, many possible explanations arise. It would seem that many theorists believe that horror is not for women. Despite an overtly feminist reading of the horror genre offered by Creed, her analyses are based solely upon the assumption that males are the primary consumers of horror films. Centring on the male spectator, Creed has written about the effects of horror as well as symbolic representations of monstrosity in film. Barbara Creed’s 2 key theory of the monstrous feminine offers such an analysis. However, many feminist theorists have spoken in defense of the horror genre, offering re-evaluations and psychoanalytical approaches to the study of the effects of horror. Some theorists dismiss horror films as low-brow, anti-woman 1 entertainment dependent on cheap, visceral thrills. However, these studies identify the typical horror spectator as a young, heterosexual male and frequently neglect the female horror spectator. There have been extensive investigations into the horror film spectator and the psychological implications of his cinematic preferences. Theoretical discourse centring on horror film spectatorship privileges the male gaze and consequently, the male spectator. Film, Fear and the Female An Empirical Study of the Female Horror Fanīy Amy Jane Vosper Volume 18, Issues 6-7 / July 2014 21 minutes (5017 words)
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